Forest yard's safety: a methodological approach for the analysis of occupational risk

In the realization of wood biomass thermal plants, environmental sustainability is best achieved through the small-scale plant's adoption. Their needs can be ensured by the surrounding forest resources. This involves, at equal output power, for the environmental and safety control systems a greater economic burden compared to large-scale systems based on massive financial investments. The aim of this study is to define a methodology analysis for the identification of safe and environmentally sustainable work's practices. The methodology will be applied initially to the forest yards, corresponding to the first phase of the forest - wood - energy cycle, i.e. the raw material procurement. The different steps of Hazard Identification, Risk Analysis and Risk Assessment have been applied to the occupational safety of a case study representative of an alpine valley's wooded area. In this analysis have been taken into account the standard operating conditions. The presence of functional anomalies was, instead, analysed by applying a Design FMECA to a forestry plant of timber's handling

Forest yard's safety: a methodological approach for the analysis of occupational risk

In the realization of wood biomass thermal plants, environmental sustainability is best achieved through the small-scale plant's adoption. Their needs can be ensured by the surrounding forest resources. This involves, at equal output power, for the environmental and safety control systems a greater economic burden compared to large-scale systems based on massive financial investments. The aim of this study is to define a methodology analysis for the identification of safe and environmentally sustainable work's practices. The methodology will be applied initially to the forest yards, corresponding to the first phase of the forest - wood - energy cycle, i.e. the raw material procurement. The different steps of Hazard Identification, Risk Analysis and Risk Assessment have been applied to the occupational safety of a case study representative of an alpine valley's wooded area. In this analysis have been taken into account the standard operating conditions. The presence of functional anomalies was, instead, analysed by applying a Design FMECA to a forestry plant of timber's handling

A combined citizen science-modelling approach for NO2 assessment in Torino urban agglomeration

The #CHEARIATIRA citizen science campaign was developed in February 2019 in Torino (western part of the Po Valley megacity region). The aim of the campaign was public engagement with measuringNO2 concentrations in an urban area that often exceeds air quality standards. NO2 diffusion tubes were employed by citizens under our supervision. In this paper, we present the main outcomes of a combined approach between the #CHEARIATIRA campaign and the urban dispersion model SIRANE. The results were validated against the available public Air Quality Monitoring Stations (AQMS). The citizens' passive samplers and the modelled data show a good response in central districts both during the campaign interval and by annual projection. Traffic hotspots and sensitive receptors (schools, hospital) have high concentrations of NO2. Most of the study area (83% of the tubes) is subject to an increased risk of premature death according to epidemiological literature

Urban air quality and meteorology on opposite sides of the Alps: The Lyon and Torino case studies

Several European urban areas are characterised by low air quality due to high local emission per unit surface. A further key feature can be related to the pollutant load due to adverse local meteo-climatic conditions. This study aims to compare the two urban agglomerations of Torino and Lyon – located on opposite sides of the Alps and characterised by similar size and population – to enlighten the role of meteorology on local pollutant dispersion. The assessment of air quality has been developed by monitoring network data, emissions analysis and the SIRANE urban dispersion model. Although the two agglomerations have similar NOX and PM10 emissions, the simulation results show higher ground level concentrations in Torino. To quantify the effect of meteorology on this excess of concentrations, we run simulations in Torino imposing the meteorological conditions of Lyon and vice versa. This implies an overall reduction of ground level concentrations in the city centre of Torino between 20% and 40% (analogously, Lyon concentrations increase by a similar amount). These results show the peculiar difficulties faced by Po valley's cities in maintaining pollution levels below regulatory thresholds and highlight the need of systemic policies and site-specific mitigation to reduce air pollution health risks

Association of kidney disease measures with risk of renal function worsening in patients with type 1 diabetes

Background: Albuminuria has been classically considered a marker of kidney damage progression in diabetic patients and it is routinely assessed to monitor kidney function. However, the role of a mild GFR reduction on the development of stage 653 CKD has been less explored in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of kidney disease measures, namely albuminuria and reduced GFR, on the development of stage 653 CKD in a large cohort of patients affected by T1DM. Methods: A total of 4284 patients affected by T1DM followed-up at 76 diabetes centers participating to the Italian Association of Clinical Diabetologists (Associazione Medici Diabetologi, AMD) initiative constitutes the study population. Urinary albumin excretion (ACR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) were retrieved and analyzed. The incidence of stage 653 CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or eGFR reduction > 30% from baseline was evaluated. Results: The mean estimated GFR was 98 \ub1 17 mL/min/1.73m2 and the proportion of patients with albuminuria was 15.3% (n = 654) at baseline. About 8% (n = 337) of patients developed one of the two renal endpoints during the 4-year follow-up period. Age, albuminuria (micro or macro) and baseline eGFR < 90 ml/min/m2 were independent risk factors for stage 653 CKD and renal function worsening. When compared to patients with eGFR > 90 ml/min/1.73m2 and normoalbuminuria, those with albuminuria at baseline had a 1.69 greater risk of reaching stage 3 CKD, while patients with mild eGFR reduction (i.e. eGFR between 90 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) show a 3.81 greater risk that rose to 8.24 for those patients with albuminuria and mild eGFR reduction at baseline. Conclusions: Albuminuria and eGFR reduction represent independent risk factors for incident stage 653 CKD in T1DM patients. The simultaneous occurrence of reduced eGFR and albuminuria have a synergistic effect on renal function worsening

Analytical method for environmental data representativeness of a territory

The description of the environmental conditions of an area is often done by using modeling programs. Its validation requires a significant number of background values, representative of the real state. These data are also necessary for the proper management of environmental issues in relation to different causes of present pollution. The sampling of these values, moreover, requires the execution of measurements characterized by a burden of cost and time. For this reason the possibility to take in advantage the existing background's environmental data, collected from studies conducted in the past, is a great resource base for the qualification and land management. However, historical data are characterized by heterogeneity in format and content and are liable to risk of obsolescence due to changes over time in the context. This research proposes a methodology of processing the historical documentation (when present) in order to obtain homogeneous data, comparable with one another and representative of the current conditions of the territory. These results, jointly with the analysis of the environmental context, are also aimed to the design of additional measures necessary for the completion of the scoreboard. The method was applied to the noise and airborne particulates risk factors

Analytical method for environmental data representativeness of a territory

The description of the environmental conditions of an area is often done by using modeling programs. Its validation requires a significant number of background values, representative of the real state. These data are also necessary for the proper management of environmental issues in relation to different causes of present pollution. The sampling of these values, moreover, requires the execution of measurements characterized by a burden of cost and time. For this reason the possibility to take in advantage the existing background's environmental data, collected from studies conducted in the past, is a great resource base for the qualification and land management. However, historical data are characterized by heterogeneity in format and content and are liable to risk of obsolescence due to changes over time in the context. This research proposes a methodology of processing the historical documentation (when present) in order to obtain homogeneous data, comparable with one another and representative of the current conditions of the territory. These results, jointly with the analysis of the environmental context, are also aimed to the design of additional measures necessary for the completion of the scoreboard. The method was applied to the noise and airborne particulates risk factors